Articles for How I Met Your Mother Season 3

After nearly a year of being together in a relationship, Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor) and Robin Scherbatsky (Cobie Smulders) have finally decided to head separate ways. The aftermath of the breakup unfolds as How I Met Your Mother enters a new season tonight at 8pm ET/PT.Last season left viewers with Ted accepting Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris) as his wingman while Robin decides to go to Argentina. Read on to find out whats in store for another “legendary” episode. Read more »

On the third season premiere of How I Met Your Mother, guest star Mandy Moore seemed to have no trouble locking lips with lead actor Josh Radnor, but the 23-year-old singer-actress admitted she had a serious case of the nerves while filming the steamy kissing scene. "Its never not peculiar," Moore told ET. "It is so unbelievably awkward to do an onscreen kiss in front of a bunch of people you dont know, and therere cameras there, and its all choreographed -- its so nerve-wracking." Read more »

Why arent more people watching How I Met Your Mother? Really, its insane. Last week, for instance, more viewers tuned in for The Big Bang Theory at 8:30 than How I Met Your Mother at 8pm. Nothing against The Big Bang Theory, which isnt bad, but How I Met Your Mother is far and away the best sitcom on TV right now. Its not even close (unless you count 30 Rock as a sitcom, which it isnt). Tonight, How I Met Your Mother devoted an entire episode to Ted attempting to pull off the vaunted “tricycle” with two lovely ladies (tricycle = threesome). There were numerous laugh-out loud moments, the subject matter was delightfully risque, and it had Neil Patrick Harris. Seriously, why arent more people watching How I Met Your Mother? Read more »

How I Met Your Mother, even on its mediocre nights, still provides more laughs than any other TV sitcom. Tonights episode was one of those just OK episodes where neither story clicked or resonated, everything a bit unfocused and disjointed. But, How I Met Your Mother is a comedy and I still laughed. Its hard to complain about that. While tonights episode was completely self-contained, it encapsulated a big issue that fans have been discussing all season long, namely, how the season should play out with Robin and Ted broken up. Read more »

How I Met Your Mother is the only sitcom that really takes chances anymore. Whereas most long-running network sitcoms are slaves to formula, How I Met Your Mother changes things up on a weekly basis. Structurally, there are very few through lines. Sure, every episode features flashbacks of some kind, but theyre deployed in all different manners, whether it be flash back, flash forward, the fake out, poorly remembered stories, different versions of the same event or, like tonight, all of the above. Most episodes of How I Met Your Mother cover a few days in the lives of our main characters but tonights episode actually took place in a shorter space of time than the episodes run time. That might be a sitcom first. I certainly cant think of any show thats done that before. Read more »

The sitcom is on life support. If it werent for How I Met Your Mother, there would be exactly zero quality sitcoms left on the air. Two and a Half Men is somewhat respectable, I suppose, but certainly nothing special. Half hour comedies have so much potential in multi-camera settings that its almost impractical to stick with the multi-camera sitcom format. How I Met Your Mother is the last living, breathing sitcom, the only one that doesnt feel recycled. There are various reasons for this (structure, subject matter, the pure comedy), but one thing that tonights episode made me realize is that character development is a large part of How I Met Your Mothers success. Read more »

On tonights episode of How I Met Your Mother, we watched Lily and Marshall buy an apartment. This was inevitable, I suppose, but now we have our five leads living in four different apartments. Either Robin or Barney are going to have to move in with Ted. We all know Barney isnt likely to leave his Fortress of Solitude, so the smart moneys on Robin. I actually like that idea; it could create an interesting dynamic between the two ex-flames. But, regardless, tonights apartment purchase by Lily and Marshall looks to be permanent and was the event which the entire episode was centered around. Read more »

How I Met Your Mother exhibits some very Seinfeld-ian story qualities now and again, and tonight was one of those times where a very small matter was turned into an entire episode. The episode centered around one very simple, universal occurrence: when someone you are close to has an annoying habit or behavior that you dont notice until someone else points it out to you. Its happened to all of us. Everyone has annoying traits, everyone gets annoyed by other peoples annoying traits. On How I Met Your Mother tonight, the annoyance parade was kicked off by Teds new girlfriend, who Ted briefly thought was perfect. He was very wrong in that assessment. Read more »

Its finally here, the most glorious day of the year! Since the summer, How I Met Your Mother fans have been salivating over a website called SlapCountdown.com, eagerly counting away the days, hours, minutes and seconds to the third of five slaps Marshall (Jason Segel) will give Barney (Neil Patrick Harris). The Slap Bet is perhaps the single greatest running joke in sitcom history, and the most amazing part of tonights episode is that the slap played second fiddle to the real story: Ted and Robins relationship.For the gangs first Thanksgiving together, Robin (Cobie Smulders) invited her new boyfriend, 41-year-old Bob, though he seems much older to Ted (Josh Radnor) and is played by 79-year-old character actor Orson Bean. While making pies the night before the holiday, Ted and Robin are stuck alone, and after some awkward banter, they have sex. Read more »

Last week, How I Met Your Mother featured a Barney-centric episode that, as expected, featured women, sex and those catch phrases he is most known for. Fans got to see a rare insecure Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) as he encountered a woman, whom he lost his virginity to, who doesnt remember him. More laughs ensued as Barney went into a downward spiral of self-doubt with his horrible pickup lines, failed attempts to score, and awkward encounters with Victorias Secret models. Next week, however, the show shifts its focus back on Ted (Josh Radnor) as he prepares to go out on a date in the episode “The Platinum Rule,” which is expected to air on December 10.Read on for a preview of next weeks episode of How I Met Your Mother. Read more »

Weve had the Lemon Law, the Crazy/Hot scale and tonight we got Barneys Platinum Rule. According to Barney, if the Golden Rule is “Love thy neighbor” (it isnt, but Barney wants you just to go with it) then the Platinum Rule is “Do not love thy neighbor.” The platinum rule, if broken, contains eight different steps until its final and devastating conclusion. How I Met Your Mother used its expert handle on time again tonight, jumping back and forth between four separate time periods. No other show on television even attempts such things, let alone executes them with the precision of How I Met Your Mother. Ted lets everyone know that hes going out on a date with Stella, the lady doctor who will be removing the tattoo on his lower back (or, in How I Met Your Mother parlance, Teds “Panama City license plate”). Barney tells him not to, and explains why using his Platinum Rule and examples from his, Robins and Marshall/Lilys past to back up his argument against breaking the Platinum Rule. Read more »

Check out all our lists for BuddyTVs Top 7 of 07 to relive the best and the worst of the year in television.Debbie Chang ranked How I Met Your Mother 1st. She says...I originally thought it was really strange that I should have a half-hour multi-camera sitcom at the top of my list of 2007 shows because its been a long while—before Monica and Chandler got engaged on Friends, when Michael J. Fox was still on Spin City, when Donna was still a redhead and Hyde was still a slacker on That 70s Show—since Ive loved a sitcom this much. After these other shows started to go to pot, the airwaves were suddenly filled with such dreck as Becker or The King of Queens. Im sorry, even Everybody Loves Raymond was unbelievably tedious to watch. How many times can you watch poor Ray caught between his wife and his mother? Read more »

Now that the writers strike has finally wrapped up, the networks are announcing when they plan to get their shows back on the air and how many more episodes theyll produce for the remainder of the season. Today, CBS announced when fans can expect future installments of shows such as How I Met Your Mother, Moonlight, CSI, and many more of their biggest hits. The first batch of shows to return to the schedule will be CBS comedy lineup, which are quicker to write and produce than the hour long dramas. Read on for more details on when these shows will return. Read more »

Now that writers are back to work on the 60 or so television shows that went on hiatus for three months during the scribes walkout, sitcoms like CBS How I Met Your Mother are expected to be among the first to return with fresh material. We reported last week that the series is scheduled to produce nine more new episodes for its current season. The comedy is slated to begin airing its new installments starting March 17.Also last week, the network announced the renewal of 11 of its scripted shows for the 2008-2009 offering. Among those named for renewal are five procedurals, three crime dramas, two sitcoms and one supernatural drama. Surprisingly, it does not include How I Met Your Mother. Read more »

Last week, we mentioned that the CBS comedy, How I Met Your Mother, will be among the first to resume airing new installments when it returns with fresh material come March 17. Despite such an upbeat prospect though, there remains the cloud of uncertainty as the sitcom is still waiting for news of being renewed for another season. While it remains in limbo, How I Met Your Mother will switch time slots with another comedy, The Big Bang Theory, which has already been picked up for a second season. Read more »

Are fans of CBS How I Met Your Mother about to meet, well, mother? TV Guides Michael Ausiello is reporting that Alicia Silverstone has been cast in a multi-episode arc. Apparently, sources have confirmed that the 31-year-old actress, known most for her portrayal of rich teen Cher Horowitz in the 1995 comedy Clueless, is set to play a doctor who becomes Teds (Josh Radnor) love interest. No word yet on when Silverstone will first appear on the show. Read more »

You can trace the downfall of Britney Spears career to the Justin Timberlake video for “Cry Me a River.” In the video, Timberlake ripped Britney to shreds in the wake of their failed relationship while singing to a Spears look-a-like. From that point on, she got knocked up by Kevin Federline twice, went from hot to unattractive, was repeatedly photographed without underwear, shaved her head, lost custody of her kids, gave the most embarrassing MTV Video Music Awards performance of all-time, and hooked up with a member of the paparazzi. It is with all this in mind that I try to analyze todays news. Britney Spears has been booked as a guest star on the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother. She will appear in an episode later this season. Either this is Britneys first good career move since the music video for “Toxic” or it means one of my favorite comedies has officially gotten desperate. Maybe both. Read more »

How I Met Your Mother returned tonight with its first new post-strike episode. Unfortunately, the half hour felt shoddily assembled. You could feel the writers rust, though How I Met Your Mothers story-telling acumen remained spectacular. The episode was like a rough draft - the plot was good, and everything was set up for a solid episode, but the jokes werent up to snuff. But, this was to be expected. The writers probably hurried the script into production – you could tell because it was a St. Patricks Day themed episode. Not surprisingly, the episode was penned by co-creators and show runners Craig Thomas and Carter Bays. Hopefully, the quality will improve in the coming weeks. The bright spot was that tonights How I Met Your Mother was another in a long line of semi-poignant, resonating episodes that the series has made its calling card. Read more »

The big How I Met Your Mother story this week is, of course, Britney Spears guest role. Promos for the episode have been running non-stop on CBS the past week, especially during the NCAA Tournament, so we can assume that there will be a significant amount of first-time How I Met Your Mother viewers tuning in tonight. This stunt casting is, in all likelihood, a last ditch effort by CBS and the How I Met Your Mother team to receive a renewal for next season; the show is perpetually “on the bubble.” So, there are two big questions raised by tonights episode: How was Britney? And, was this episode good enough to bring keep new viewers and boost ratings for the rest of the season. Short answers: Not terrible and yes. Read more »

So, that was new. Tonights episode of How I Met Your Mother was a full-on Barney story, the likes of which weve never see before. We delved deep into the sick world of Barney and his multitude of perverse sexual conquests and, ultimately, wound up right back where we started. Thats the joy of the Barney character – he is not a very good person, but hes come to terms with it and makes no apologies for his behavior (except for one moment tonight, which ended up being misleading). The reason why How I Met Your Mother cant focus more on Barney is that he doesnt learn anything. Sitcoms tell moral tales with definite arcs; Barney is more or less arc-less. Which is why tonights How I Met Your Mother episode felt abbreviated, the ending meaningless, although Im glad the writers gave a Barney-centric episode a shot. Read more »

It must be hard to be Neil Patrick Harris. Im not talking about his relatively recent decision to come out of the closet, but rather the stigma of being remembered as Doogie Howser, M.D. The sitcom about a teenage savant who becomes a doctor was as cheesy as it could be, and since then, Harris has slowly but surely made a career of putting that role behind him.He starred on Broadway. He appeared in cheesy sci-fi movies like Starship Troopers. And he made an oh-so-memorable cameo as an out-of-control version of himself in Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. In his latest, Emmy-nominated role as Barney Stinson on How I Met Your Mother, it finally seemed as though Harris had come into a role that would outshadow Doogie. Read more »

After Britney Spears guest-starred on How I Met Your Mother two weeks ago as a receptionist named Abby, the rumors have been swirling about her possible return to the series. Gossip columns have been buzzing about Spears appearance on How I Met Your Mother and, if theres even a speck of a story regarding Britney, then its going to be pounded into submission. Which is exactly whats happened with this one. Will she come back to How I Met Your Mother? As show runner Carter Bays has simply stated, nobody knows. The How I Met Your Mother teams public stance has been that they were very pleased with her performance as Abby, and that shed be welcomed back in a heart beat. I have no reason to suspect this isnt the case, but I also know that its not as simple a matter of her deciding whether she want to be on the show again. Read more »

How I Met Your Mother knows how to forward their story. Sitcoms dont work like other shows – theres generally no forward momentum to a continuing story line over the course of a season. In every season, there will be a few episodes here and there with major, significant plot points. The problem that often arrives is that sitcom writers will clunkily write the plot-filled episodes. The laughs will come up short, or a major plot point will feel glossed over too quickly. How I Met Your Mother is an exception, and they are able to intelligently create episodes, like tonights, that get their story told efficiently while being innovative and, most importantly, while keeping it all hilarious. Read more »

Robin Sparkles returns to CBS on Monday. The teenage alter-ego of How I Met Your Mothers Robin Scherbatsky, Robin Sparkles had 15 minutes of fame in her native Canada during the 90s thanks to her hit single, “Lets Go to the Mall.” That song, and wonderful music video, was the focus of perhaps the single greatest episode in How I Met Your Mother history, which is saying something. On Mondays brand new episode, one way or another, a new Robin Sparkles song/video will be unearthed. CBS has released the full audio version of the song, called “Sandcastles in the Sand,” as well as a minute long clip from the video. Since I had previously assumed that the legend of Robin Sparkles would begin and end with “Lets Go to the Mall,” the emergence of “Sandcastles in the Sand” brings up some interesting questions. Did Robin Sparkles fame extend further than Scherbatsky would like to admit? Is “Sandcastles in the Sand” simply a failed B-side/second single? And, whats the deal with all the guest stars? Read more »

Its getting to be that time of the year again. Will your favorite, under appreciated TV show be renewed for another season? If you think your sweating it out as a fan, think of the hundreds of jobs that hinge on the TV executives decisions. There are a few big names on the bubble this year, and we have some scoop on where their fates may lie. A couple days back, The Hollywood Reporter spoke briefly with the entertainment head honchos for ABC, CBS, FOX and the CW about where some of the bubble shows stand. Would you like to know the possible fate of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles? How I Met Your Mother? Moonlight? Reaper? Read on to find out. Read more »

Its getting hard to keep track of where you might find Scrubs actress Sarah Chalke on television these days. The NBC comedy disappeared for over four months due to the writers strike, then finally returned earlier this month to Thursdays at 9:30pm following The Office. Now the network has announced that theyll be moving the remaining episodes of the series to 8:30pm, swapping the show with 30 Rock for the remainder of the season.However, even if you cant remember when Scrubs is on, youll still be able to catch Chalke on How I Met Your Mother. It was announced today that the actress will be returning to the CBS comedy after making her first appearance in the infamous Britney Spears episode. Read more »

This is why I love How I Met Your Mother. On tonights episode, there was a new term to add to my lexicon (“revertigo”), there were a number of hilarious Canada-themed jokes (“Robin, did he take your Maple Leaf?”), there was a great guest star (Dawson), the return of Robin Sparkles and one giant step forward in the shows mythology. Cobie Smulders was up to the challenge – the whole weight of the episode was on her shoulders. And, lets not kid ourselves – the ending of tonights episode may change the face of How I Met Your Mother for good. I have a feeling that “Sandcastles in the Sand” will go down as one of the series classics. Read more »

The humanization of Barney continues. How I Met Your Mother loves to sledgehammer sitcom conventions to bits, and tonights episode ("The Goat") defied one of the greatest: the resolution of conflict between main characters. In a typical sitcom, a serious disagreement between main characters who are usually friends is almost always resolved in the same episode – rarely is something serious left to linger from week to week. Even rarer still is the lack of a resolution between people who arent former lovers. Currently, Ted and Barney have a serious issue at hand on How I Met Your Mother – the show dealt with it expertly, wringing the perfect amount of comedy and drama out of a delicate situation. In the end, the writers didnt fall prey to the “forgive and forget” climax that so many others lazily take. Nothing is resolved, only more conflict offered. Read more »

It was confirmed last week that Britney Spears will be returning to How I Met Your Mother as Abby, a receptionist to Teds love interest Stella. Britneys first go-around on the series can only be considered a great success, both in terms of Britneys performance and the effect on the series in general. How I Met Your Mother was teetering on the verge of cancellation (and still may be), but Britneys appearance gave the series a huge ratings boost. The writers didnt give Britney anything that difficult and she didnt embarrass herself – at this point in her career, that was a major victory. After the success of her first appearance, How I Met Your Mother is bringing her back once more. She will guest on the May 12 episode of How I Met Your Mother called “Everything Must Go” and the episodes plot description gives us insight as to where the rest of the Mother season is headed. SPOILER WARNING!!! MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD!!! Read more »

How I Met Your Mother is a show that has its off-nights. All shows do, really, but Ive found with How I Met Your Mother a weird phenomenon, maybe exclusive to the show: theres not much of a consensus regarding which episodes are the bad ones. Over this season, the episodes Ive found to be sub-par have been the favorites of others. Im not sure what this means. Maybe How I Met Your Mothers type of humor lends itself to different, more specific reactions to it by the audience. Anyway, Im really only saying this so nobody gets mad at me when I admit that tonights episode (“Rebound Bro”) just didnt do it for me. Read more »

This Monday, tabloid queen/mother of two/former pop princess/Kentuckian Britney Spears returns to How I Met Your Mother. After her first highly-anticipated appearance went off better than expected (it wasnt embarrassing) the How I Met Your Mother team worked Britney back into the fold for Mondays episode, which is called “Everything Must Go.” Barney and Ted are still on the outs. Its not that Ted hates Barney, or is even that mad at him, he just thinks that theyve outgrown Barney as a friend. Given Barneys behavior, thats not an awful conclusion to make, but its one that destroys Barney. In an attempt to win Ted back, Barney gets Abby (Britney Spears) to act as his girlfriend to try and convince Ted that his womanizing ways are over. Check out a Britney-centric clip from the episode below. Read more »

Britney Spears was OK the first time. Her role as dim-witted, innocent secretary to Teds love interest Stella worked in small doses inside the office setting. Tonight, Britney stretched her legs at the bar, in a cab and in her apartment. Shes not hopeless as an actor – given the right words to speak, you can believe her. However, the slightest bit of “acting” she has to do means over-acting will occur. Shes got that baby voice she falls back on, and it gets a bit annoying. Her chemistry with Neil Patrick Harris, whom she spent all scenes with tonight (and, unfortunately, vice versa), is non-existent. If we consider Britneys first How I Met Your Mother appearance a success (which we probably have to, on a number of levels) her work tonight was a bit of a disappointment. This may have more to do with the overall quality of the episode tonight rather than Britney herself – if her first episode wasnt so damn all-around good, she probably would have been ripped to shreds the first time. Read more »

Youd think the CBS upfront presentation would be pretty dull whit Wednesday. With the sheer volume of successful crime procedurals (the CSI franchise, NCIS, Cold Case, Without a Trace, Ghost Whisperer, etc) its hard to believe theres any room on the schedule for new shows. Nonetheless, Variety reports that CBS has ordered six new shows for its 2008-2009 season, including four hour-long dramas. And while How I Met Your Mother is safe (thanks, one assumes, to the Britney bump), the amount of dramas is very, very bad news for Moonlight. Read more »

Its CBS, so its boring. Sure, there are a fair share of CBS shows that I will watch religiously, but for a non-procedural drama fan, the pickings are slim. CBS is a successful network because they know its audience and cater directly towards them. At this mornings upfront presentation, CBS unveiled its fall schedule, and the surprises were minimal. The network introduced five new series, which we will discuss below, and they all seem to fit in well with the network as a whole. Bubble shows How I Met Your Mother and The New Adventures of Old Christine have survived – Moonlight has not. Below you will find the full CBS Fall schedule, plus a look at each of CBSs new series. Read more »

The third season finale of How I Met Your Mother, in which Ted (Josh Radnor) got into an accident that caused him to re-evaluate his life and relationship with Stella (Sarah Chalke), has left viewers thinking that Stella may indeed be the mother of Teds children. While fans of the show will have to “wait for it” until the next season to find out whether Stella is the answer to the query posed by the title of the series, show creator Craig Thomas has given his take on the twist that has possibly left fans mulling over the long summer. Although the creators of How I Met Your Mother are not confirming anything, they acknowledge that Stella as the mother of Teds children is a very real possibility. However, it all comes down to “logistics,” which complicates the whole situation. Read more »

Neil Patrick Harris and the rest of the cast and crew of CBS How I Met Your Mother may, like many of the seasons shows, find themselves on hiatus due to the writers guild walkout. Nevertheless, even as the writers strike continues without a hint of breakthrough in negotiations, Harris has found the time and inclination to have a bit of game show fun for a worthy cause. The How I Met Your Mother star appears next week on the long-running game show, Wheel of Fortune. The actors winnings are meant to assist Children International, which is a Kansas-based child sponsorship group. Read more »